Always Right There
by notwithoutyou85
Summary: Isaac feels guilty when Rebecca is attacked by an alpha. One-Shot. Isaac/Rebecca (OC), Stydia if you squint


At first, all Rebecca could hear was steady beeping and muffled voices all around her. Her eyes wouldn't open. It was like being in a dream that was impossible to wake up from. Everything was black. Then the red eyes would glow in the darkness, staring at her, waiting to attack again, but the blood curdling scream in her throat wouldn't come out like it did in the woods.

The last thing she remembered was hearing racing footsteps, growls, and movement as she laid on the ground gasping for breath. She looked up and saw Isaac carrying her in his arms, eyes downcast on her apologetically. He put her in the back of Derek's car and cradled her in his arms until they got to the hospital.

She must have blacked out on the way.

A part of her wondered if all of that was just a dream. Was she dead? Had the thing killed her? It was an alpha werewolf, no doubt, but a different kind. It was twice the size, moved faster, and had different features. It was unlike anything she'd ever seen and more terrifying than Isaac, Scott, Derek, Peter, or even Aidan and Ethan could ever be.

Then she started to hear other noises. Isaac's low, soothing voice telling her it was going to be okay. That she was safe now. That he was sorry. She wanted to roll her eyes. He was always blaming himself and it made him hate what he was. Most of their fights were about that. They'd broken up twice in the past eight months because he thought it would be safer for her to be away from him. But he realized both times that he was wrong, and the separation never lasted.

The last breakup went on for an entire month. Rebecca happened to be with Isaac when a fight between the werewolves broke out, and she got in the way by accident. She tried to reason with him, but he was adamant about keeping her away from all of it. To say it was difficult to avoid each other is an understatement. It was impossible. They had the same friends and the group was already close knit. But they gave it their best shot, ignoring one another at school and making sure one of them wasn't there at outings. If she stuck with Lydia and Allison, the coast was clear, but her interactions with Scott were limited.

Then Isaac saw her with Aidan at her locker. Usually when she was around the alpha, which he'd always hated, Lydia was there too, but this time she was alone with him and Isaac flipped out. She and Scott were the only reason he didn't kill Aidan in the hallway.

They got back together the next day.

She heard Allison talking to her about her day and felt her hand give hers a gentle squeeze. Lydia fixed her hair, making sure she looked decent for all of the visitors. How many days had gone by? She couldn't hear Stiles, but imagined that was because he was too busy watching for any movement from her. That's all her brother did the last time she was in the hospital. She had a concussion… the cause of the first breakup with Isaac. Long story.

Derek and Scott were there once in the beginning, but she didn't hear them at all after that. Her father gave her words of encouragement, telling her she was going to be fine and would pull through. That she was the strongest, most stubborn one in the family. And that she would be proud of him for allowing Isaac to stay all this time. That made her laugh. He and Isaac had never gotten along. Especially since finding out over the Summer that he was a werewolf. Not a comfortable conversation.

"I'm going to get a coffee. You boys staying?" she heard the Sheriff ask. And then there was mumbled conversation that seemed to escalate into hushed fighting between two voices. Another voice was low, trying to mediate. Then a fourth voice started.

Rebecca's eyes slowly blinked open and there were four blurred shapes to the right of her in the corner of the room. The shortest one with a red glow, obviously Lydia, was standing behind one of them, pulling them back gently. Lydia and Stiles, she guessed. The tallest was standing close to her feet, one hand on the blanket. Isaac. After what happened, she would never be able to get rid of him again.

"Mm." She hummed softly and all of the startled shapes began to move. One of them literally shoved past everyone and stood over her, clutching both of her arms. "Becs… Becca, can you hear me? Sis?" Stiles. He pushed some of the hair out of her face. "Go get the doctor."

Scott raced out of the room.

Rebecca looked around, confused. Everyone was in focus. Stiles standing over her with a worried expression. Lydia on one side. Isaac on the other. But for some reason in her mind she was still in the woods with the alpha… or whatever it was. It's large frame charging towards her through the darkness, baring it's teeth, pinning her to the ground viciously, screaming at the top of her lungs, and then the painful weight on her leg.

All of the fear came rushing back and she flinched when Lydia touched her arm. The redhead stepped back, terrified, when several low whimpers escaped her throat. Tears brimmed her eyes.

Isaac quickly held onto her hand and Rebecca flinched again. But he didn't let go. "No, no, Rebecca, you're safe." He whispered, lips pressed to her skin. "No one's going to hurt you here."

Rebecca calmed down after hearing his voice and looked to Stiles. "Where's Dad?"

"He'll be right back. Scott went to find him and the doctor." Stiles answered, breathing a sigh of relief.

"You're going to be fine." Isaac assured her and leaned over to kiss her forehead.

She noticed her brother had tears in his eyes he was trying to control. "Are you crying?" She asked, confused. Stiles never cried. Was she _that_ badly injured?

He roughly dragged an arm across his eyes. "No. Because you're going to be fine. Like Isaac said."

Rebecca spotted the cast on her arm and the large bandage on her leg with red stains seeping through. Blood. She breathed heavily, panicking, and the heart monitor beeped erratically.

"Calm down." Stiles ordered, glancing up at the bright red numbers.

"Oh my God. Am I- what happened? Stiles, what happened?" Her eyes moved to her boyfriend. "Isaac?"

Isaac shook his head, already knowing what she was thinking. "The wolf didn't bite you. Derek and I got there before it went that far. It's just a gash… from it's claws." He finished angrily and kissed her hand again. He always did that when she was upset. "Shh, try to stay calm. It's not good for you to get upset. You need to rest."

Rebecca let out a haggard breath, but the throbbing pain in her leg was getting worse. It felt like someone had smashed it with a sledgehammer and then poured rubbing alcohol on the open wound. "I hope his Alpha ass is happy at least. My leg freakin' kills."

Lydia put a comforting hand on her cast, having moved closer to her. Rebecca smiled at her weakly. "Sorry, Lyd."

"Don't apologize." Lydia quickly responded. "It's okay. Just glad you're awake and alright… sort of."

The fact that her friend was even there after what happened to her a little over a year ago was amazing in itself. Stiles and Isaac were exchanging worried glances. She looked between them. "What were you guys fighting about?"

Stiles was still looking at Isaac as he spoke. "They haven't found it yet."

"We will." Isaac clarified, glaring daggers at Stiles. He obviously didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was.

"Really?" Stiles snapped.

Lydia walked over to him. "Stiles." She warned.

With forced effort, Rebecca tried to sit up against the pillows. "Are you… saying it's going to come back for me?" Her voice shook. The attack in the woods was literally the most terrifying thing she'd ever gone through.

"_No_." Stiles told her, body shaking with anger. "They're going to find it and kill it and it's not going to touch you again as long as I'm breathing."

Taking a better look at her brother, Rebecca noticed how bad he looked. Like he hadn't slept or eaten in days. The dark circles under his eyes came into view under the harsh lights as he leaned over her. She nodded up at him to confirm his promise.

Isaac was staring at the ground angrily, trying to keep his composure. "Baby." She said, putting a hand on his cheek. He didn't respond. "Stiles, can you guys go help Scott find the doctor?"

Stiles nodded and gave her a gentle hug. "I'm glad you're okay." He whispered in her ear and lead Lydia out of the room with him.

Isaac was still silent with an unreadable expression on his face. She knew that look. He felt guilty because of what happened to her. "Hey. Look at me, Lahey." Rebecca said and his head snapped in her direction. "Do you love me?"

"What?"

"Do you love me?" She repeated softly.

"More than anyone… anything." He told her sincerely and pressed his forehead against hers. "You know that."

"Then you have to believe me when I tell you that this wasn't your fault. I'm not going to let you blame yourself. Not for this."

He sighed and moved away to pace the floor.

"You got to me as soon as you could, Isaac."

"Not soon enough! I mean, look at you." He exploded. "This happened because of me, Rebecca. Stop denying it. You needed me and I wasn't there. He could have… taken you from me. Killed you. You could have died!"

"I didn't!"

Isaac dragged a hand over his face, laughing bitterly to himself. "I'm sorry if I'm a little upset, but you almost leaving me for good doesn't exactly give me pleasure. I've never felt… more helpless in my life. Seeing you in that bed these past few days, not knowing if you were going to wake up. It's been torture."

"Now you know how it feels." Rebecca shrugged.

He whipped around to face her. She is about to respond when a sharp pain makes her head jerk up. Isaac cupped her face in his hands. "Leg?"

"I just need more pain meds." She grimaced.

"I'm going to find the doctor." Isaac growled. "Where the hell is everybody?"

Rebecca gripped his arm before he could leave. "Don't leave me, Isaac, please." She begged.

Isaac watched the fear flash in her eyes and sat closer to her. "Okay, okay, I won't. It's okay. You're alright."

She relaxed and leaned back in the bed. "I was going to say now you know how it feels when I don't know if you're going to come back to me alive or not. I'm scared for you all the time, Isaac." She suddenly broke down, tears finally coming. "More than you know."

He shushed her and situated himself on the bed, wrapping both arms around her protectively. She sobbed into his chest. "It was standing over me, holding my arms above my head, breathing on my neck, and I- was so scared."

"Shh. Don't think about it. I'll never let anything like that happen to you again. I promise."

"Every time I close my eyes, it's there. Watching me." Rebecca whispered, clinging to him. "I don't want to see it."

"Never again." Isaac promised and held her tighter. "I love you. I love you so much, B."

They looked up when the Sheriff cleared his throat. The doctor stood next to him in the doorway.

"Why don't you take a breather, Isaac." The Sheriff suggested. At least it was in a neutral tone of voice. Could have been worse. "She'll be fine." He put a hand on the boy's shoulder after he stood up. Stiles passed Isaac on the way out. He walked over to Scott and Derek, who were talking closely.

"We're about to head out again." Derek said, noticing Isaac looking anxiously at the door of Rebecca's room. "How is she?"

"Physically, she seems okay." Isaac shrugged. "A little pain. The doctor's in there with her Dad now. But she's terrified, Derek. I've never seen her like that."

Scott patted his shoulder. "We'll find them."

"That's why I came by. We could use some help tracking him. Aidan and Ethan are still in the woods." Isaac gave him a look. "Needed all the help I could get. Allison and her Dad are out there too. But even with all of us… it's been difficult to track. He's faster than any alpha I've seen." Derek explained worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm coming. Give me a few minutes to say goodbye." Isaac said. He noticed Stiles slipping out of the room. "What'd he say?"

"Her arm's broken." Stiles sighed. "Leg will heal with antibiotics, so she won't be up and around for at least a month, but she's going to be fine."

"I'll meet you out front." Derek said and breezed past them through the automatic doors.

"You're going out again?" Stiles asked.

"Me too this time." Isaac said and went back into Rebecca's room.

Stiles stared at Scott for a moment. "Is she going to be safe at home?" He asked pointedly.

"Stiles-"

"Just tell me." Stiles cut him off. "Whatever it is, I can take it, but I need to know. Will this thing come after my sister again or not?"

"I don't know. Neither does Derek. He thinks it's a different kind of alpha. It's been hard to track and it's fast. It might be targeting specific people, and if that's true then the attack wasn't by chance. It was looking for her."

Stiles' face dropped. "Great. I'd help too, but Becs won't want me to leave her if Isaac's going with you."

"Probably better if you stay with her. Isaac will be more focused that way." Scott handed Stiles a small bag tied at the top. "It's mountain ash just in case. Circle the house with it. Allison and her Dad offered to take first watch and we'll rotate until we find it."

Stiles nodded at the ground silently.

"I'm sorry this happened, Stiles. I know it's not easy for you and your Dad to see her like that because of-" Scott stopped, realizing what he was saying. They hadn't talked about his mother's death in years. Now wasn't exactly the right time to start doing that again. "You aren't alone in this."

The Sheriff fiddled with the tv stations in an attempt to avoid his daughter and Isaac saying goodbye. He guessed he was leaving.

"I'll be over to check on you soon." Isaac told her.

"Where are you going?" Rebecca asked, concerned.

The Sheriff turned his head slightly, but thought better about snooping. All he was focused on was waiting for the paperwork from the front desk and getting his daughter back home where she belonged.

Isaac leaned down to whisper in her ear. "With Scott and Derek."

That was all he had to say. Rebecca kissed him shortly since her Dad was in the room. "Please be careful."

Isaac kissed her nose and then her forehead, trying to keep it tame for the Sheriff, but they pulled away when he cleared his throat. His usual warning.

After everyone left, Rebecca's patience started to run thin with Stiles and their father when they insisted on rolling her out of the hospital in a wheelchair. She kept her head lowered, avoiding eye contact and sympathetic glances from the hospital staff and other patients. Though she accepted a hug from Scott's mother when they stopped at reception to sign forms.

At the house, they fussed over her all the way up to the bedroom. She had her uninjured arm draped over her the Sheriff and Stiles' was curled around her waist to steady her as they escorted her up the staircase and down the long hallway. She couldn't wait to be able to use the crutches the hospital gave them. At least then she could do things by herself. Feeling like an invalid sucked.

It was only eight o'clock, so they kept asking if she needed anything. Rebecca said no every time and couldn't sleep no matter how hard she tried. Every time she closed her eyes she saw it again. The figure in the dark running towards her. Clawing at her skin. Trying to rip her throat out. Pinning her. Low growling from deep in it's throat.

She shuddered at the thoughts, pulling the comforter to her chin. Her body was shaking involuntarily and wouldn't stop.

After a few hours, she was still laying in bed reading the same magazine. The articles were actually holding her interest. She looked up at her phone buzzing on the nightstand and breathed a sigh of relief at the text message.

**We caught him. It's over. I'll be there in ten. Love you. - IL**

Now maybe she could sleep… but not without Isaac there. She sat up in bed, patiently waiting for him to come to her window. It was usually unlocked so he could just come in, but it was locked tonight.

Her head moved to the window when she heard tapping. She hobbled over to it, but Isaac wasn't outside. He was standing below the house on the lawn throwing pebbles from the driveway.

"What are you doing? Come up." Rebecca said, leaning out the window.

He motioned to the line of mountain ash in front of him.

Rebecca sighed and turned towards her bedroom door.

"Stiles!"

He was in her doorway in less than ten seconds, clutching a bat in one hand.

"What?" He breathed.

"You know what."


End file.
